Turkish furniture companies eye expansion in Qatar

February 20, 2014 - 1:22:00 am

Turkish Furniture Exporters meeting yesterday. Shaival Dalal.

BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB

DOHA: The Turkish furniture delegation, which is here to establish partnership with local companies, received good response from Qatari businessmen on the first day of their two-day bilateral (B2B) meeting, said the head of the business delegation here yesterday.

“Currently the penetration of Turkish furniture industry is very limited in Qatar. We are here to enhance our presence in the market. We are having negotiations with potential partners. The response is very positive, and since morning over 50 visitors both individuals and representatives from local companies, have attended the meetings with members of the delegation,” Yusef Sen, President of MODEF told The Peninsula on the sidelines.

Sen said: “Turkish furniture companies have high competitive advantage, which supply world-class furniture at affordable prices across the globe. We have a dedicated city for furniture production in Turkey, where out of the total population of 180,000, over 40,000 people are associated with the industry.”

The 17-member trade mission, organised by MODEF Fair Organisation, Turkey, aims at developing mutual cooperation on furniture sector and utilise business opportunities between the two countries.

The mission consisting 15 leading Turkish furniture companies from Inegol district of Bursa City, Turkey is holding B2B meetings at Intercontinental Hotel Doha-The City (located at West Bay) from 10:30am to 5:00pm, which is open for the visitors.

Turkish companies produce a wide variety of products including home furniture (sofa set, living room, bedroom, wall units), office and school furniture and wood products.

“We are inviting Qatari companies to meet with Turkish furniture. Turkey’s furniture exports have had an upward trend in recent years. In the last ten years, exports of Turkish furniture increased from $192m in 2001 to $2bn in 2013. Our goal is to join the ranks of top five exporting countries worldwide. We predict that we are going to rank within top 5 exporting countries within the next five years,” said Mustafa Gulec, Turkish Commercial Counsellor.

Gulec said: “Our primary target is to create and shape the Turkish furniture style, a style that would enjoy popularity and demand around the world. We believe that our furniture will enjoy worldwide admiration in the coming years.”

He also said that the furniture industry in Turkey is very dynamic and has resulted in the international competitiveness, particularly when it comes to quality, design and price. At present, around 25 percent of the $6bn furniture production in Turkey is exported to overseas.

Inegol district constitutes 35 percent of this and the aim is to hit $1bn in exports in 2014.

With more than 260 large-scale factories, 1,000 showrooms and 1500 production centres, Inegol has maintained its position as the largest furniture producer and exporter in Turkey. Current export statistics show that there are around 300 Inegol furniture companies exporting their products to over 110 countries across the globe. The Peninsula